A Coffeyville man will be a competitor in the Inter-State Rodeo this weekend.
Twenty-year-old cowboy Chance Merrill will compete in the bareback riding on August 17 in Coffeyville.
Merrill, a Colorado native, moved to Coffeyville two years ago with his family. He had competed in the Colorado High School Rodeo Association, first as a bull rider but then switched to bareback riding his sophomore year of high school. As soon as he did it, he knew he wanted to continue. "There was just something about (riding bareback horses)," he said. "It's super, super fast and the power from a bucking horse is just unbelievable. Once you get tapped off, there's nothing like it. It's pure adrenaline."
Merrill is in his second year at Coffeyville Community College, competing on the rodeo team and majoring in chemical engineering. He is in his first year of competition in the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association and is also contesting in regional rodeo associations like the Kansas Pro Rodeo Association and the American Cowboy Rodeo Association.
He's not afraid to learn from other bareback riders, asking for advice from successful cowboys like Jared Keylon and Will Martin, who will also ride in Coffeyville. "Everyone tries to help each other out. I go to the guys who win, and ask them what I need to do to get better."
He's poised to compete at his first KPRA and ACRA Finals, and is hoping to be among the top twelve bareback riders in the Prairie Circuit, the PRCA's regional division of rodeos, to compete at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in Duncan, Oklahoma in October.
He and his dad, Cord Merrill, team rope together at local jackpots, and his mom, Amy is a horse trainer. Chance's older brother, Justin, rode bulls when he was younger. His mom figured her sons would quit riding bulls and bucking horses after they got hurt. "Her theory was, we would get stomped into the ground (while riding bulls) and get hurt and quit, but that hasn't happened yet."
Merrill was a three-time qualifier for the National High School Finals Rodeo (2014-2016). He earned a 4.0 grade point average in college last semester.
Among the more than 250 contestants entered in the Inter-State Rodeo, which takes place August 16-17, twenty states are represented.
Performances are at 7:30 pm on August 16-17. Slack, the extra competition that doesn't fit into the evening performances, is at 8 am on August 16 (steer roping and team roping) and at 8 am on August 17 (tie-down roping and steer wrestling). Barrel racing slack will be held after the rodeo on the night of August 16.
The 110th annual Inter-State Fair and Rodeo is August 14-18, with grandstand events each night. Tickets for the freestyle motocross (August 14), LJ Jenkins bull riding (August 15), PRCA rodeo (August 16-17), and demo derby (August 18) range in price from $15 to $30 and can be purchased online at www.FairandRodeo.com, at the Coffeyville Chamber of Commerce, and at the gate. For more information, visit the website or call the Coffeyville Area Chamber of Commerce at 620.251.2550.